Atomic Fizz Soda

I opened this earlier this afternoon (as I watched the Vikings lose in the playoffs... sad)...

Brand: Atomic Fizz Soda.

Origin: Louisburg, KS.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I kinda had high hopes for this. It's label made it sound really special. This soda (not the BRAND, but this particular flavor) has it's own Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook page. And it didn't have any sort of flavor listed, so I was super curious as well. It ended up being a bit of a cream soda -like soda. But it really was more than that. There's an element of cola in there, and a thick syrup-iness. If I had to describe it in one sentence, I'd say it's a blonde, creamy, syrupy, slightly fruity cola... kinda. Not bad at all. Pretty interesting, and decent.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.
 

Ketchup is a Soda?...

This is controversial... much like the "are hot dogs considered a sandwich or a taco" debate.

Fiz Roc City Root Beer

I cracked into this today:

Brand: Fiz Roc City Root Beer.

Origin: Rochester, NY.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I thought I'd had this before, but as I looked back on this blog, I realized I'd only sampled it at a "root beer tasting" at Blue Sun Soda. (I actually noted that Fiz's was the only root beer at the tasting that I hadn't had before, but I didn't note if I liked it or not.)

It had a very "thick" flavor, almost molasses-like. Whenever I think of a "classic" root beer flavor, it's one of 2 things: sort of an A&W, or like this Fiz. It was pretty good. Pretty rich. And when I set it down a little hard on the counter once it made and kept a good head. Nothing great, but pretty decent.

Score: 7 out of 10.
 

Scary Soda Black Lemonade Private Reserve Soda

This looked... interesting. I cracked into this yesterday:

"Animal testing was consensual." Sassy.

More sassiness.

Brand: Scary Soda Black Lemonade Private Reserve Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: OK, the first thing is that this is not just a dark brown "cola" color. When I poured some in a glass, it left a true blueish-black ring. It's really dark. That's odd.

It was almost shocking that it tastes like lemonade! And it was STRONG. It is not a "chugging" soda - it's a "sipping" soda. It would be good as a mixer with alcohol because it's so strong and lemony. As is, it's too sour for me to drink. I'd label this as a "lemon sour" and not a "lemonade." So if you like a strong and sour lemonade / lemon sour, then this is a fun one for you to try! I don't think it's necessarily bad, but I just couldn't drink it as is.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.
 

Christmas Soda Display

Buddy's Orange Soda

I opened this tonight as we worked on wrapping presents:

Brand: Buddy's Orange Soda.

Origin: New Ulm, MN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was just OK. It had a little sharpness to it that made it taste less like a super sweet orange soda, and more like a "clementine" soda. (And yes, clementines are sweeter than oranges, but they are NOT sweeter than your typical orange soda.) This wasn't bad, but it just had that sharpness that I didn't totally care for. My boys thought it was fine, but they like any sugar they can get their hands on. I'll rank it middle-of-the-road average.

Score: 5 out of 10. 
 

Soda Deal at Lunds

At Lunds the other day, I noticed a new promotion:

Lunds soda selection.

Mix-and-match any 6 bottles for $9.99.

That's a $1.95 savings for 6 bottles - normally, they are $1.99 individually. I think I have a decent stock of sodas in the basement right now, but I might have to stop by Lunds if I need a fresh assorted 6-pack.

Henry Weinhard's Black Cherry Cream

I celebrated a final "work week" before finals with a soda in class today:

Before any of my students showed up. Obviously.

Brand: Henry Weinhard's Black Cherry Cream.

Origin: Fort Worth, TX.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sucrose.

Review: This was QUITE creamy. I think I may have tasted the creaminess before actually tasting the black cherry. It was nearly too much. The black cherry part of it had a good deep flavor, but it was paired with this intense creaminess. I don't think it was bad, but it was just a bit more than I expected. I didn't "chug" this, but it was very "sip-able" throughout the morning in my classroom. Not bad. Different. CREAMY.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.